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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23942125">Sugar, Shrine, and Paper Planes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/redheadlady/pseuds/redheadlady'>redheadlady</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cute things I wanted to write, F/M, Fluff, Kageyachi sharing one brain cell during their third year of high school, Rare Pairings, Summer, sugar spice and everything nice</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:14:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,532</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23942125</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/redheadlady/pseuds/redheadlady</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yachi had been anxious over the future; worrying about the hurdles and troubles she would eventually face once she graduated from high school, until that one day during the summer break of her senior year, when Kageyama reminded her that they both were just a pair of sixteen-year-olds.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kageyama Tobio/Yachi Hitoka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>154</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sugar, Shrine, and Paper Planes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>You think I've planned this fic to reach 6k words? I have no self-control.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>That week had been declared as the hottest week of the year. Coach Ukai was wise enough to suspend the club activity until the following Monday when the heat supposedly began to tone down. The sun outside was blazing in the blue of August sky. Yachi wondered if she would be able to walk to the bus stop without fainting from heatstroke on the way.</p>
<p>She turned her head away from the window and back to her homeroom teacher, who was still sifting through a stack of papers on his office desk. The sunlight reflected off his balding head, creating a small circle of glow on the glassy skin. A few strands of white hair she’d never discerned before could be spotted easily amongst the remaining fading locks.</p>
<p>“Alright, here we go,” he eventually announced as he forcibly pulled out a piece of paper from the pile, almost ripping the sheet off from the weight of other documents towering atop of it. His wrinkled eyes squinted when he rechecked the title, making sure it was the right file before handing it over to Yachi. “Don’t lose it this time, okay?” He warned, peering at her from over the top of his thick glasses. “You should’ve turned this in before the start of summer break.”</p>
<p>“I won’t, I promise.” Yachi forced her lips to curl up and formed a reassuring smile as she folded the paper into half without reading it. “I’m sorry for troubling you, Seto-sensei.”</p>
<p>The middle-aged man breathed out a long sigh as he removed his specs and leaned back into his chair. He rooted out a microfiber cloth from his jumbled drawer. “I heard from your previous HR teacher that you have an interest in graphic design,” he said while rubbing the lenses of his glasses. “You’ve decided which university you want to enroll, right?”</p>
<p>Yachi flinched at the unanticipated question. Her smile stiffened and gradually wilted into a straight line. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear nervously, letting out a dry titter in return so she wouldn’t have to stand there in complete, awkward silence. Seto-sensei planted his glasses back and raised his brows at her response, emphasizing the deep creases on his forehead. He'd opened his mouth to say something when another teacher called his name and distracted his attention. Yachi hurriedly used the opportunity to end the conversation. She gave him one last thank-you bow before excusing herself out of the staff room.</p>
<p>A relieved breath left her lungs as she slid close the door behind her. She looked down to the paper in her hand, already knowing what’s written inside–to be exact, she had memorized it. It was what she had been reading over and over again for the last couple of weeks: <em>Career Choice Report; name, class; option one, option two, option three </em>with three blank lines waiting to be filled with plans for the <em>future</em>, which would happen in about eight months from then, when the school would finally release her into the society.</p>
<p>Yachi pressed her lips together. She folded the paper once more in the middle and started to walk down the hallway. Sunlight flooded the entire corridor. The air felt dry and stagnant as the windows weren’t left open. Sweat started to prick on her skin and Yachi flapped the collar of her uniform shirt, attempting to fan her face with as much breeze that she was able to make. Her throat was demanding to be splashed by something icy and sweet and fresh, and the image of apple juice and milk tea popped out in her mind. Her lips tingled when she licked it. She quickened her pace, deciding to stop by vending machine before heading home.</p>
<p>Her footsteps resonated throughout the empty staircase as she skipped the steps two at a time, making an extra loud thump when her shoes landed on the ground floor. Yachi gripped the verge of the railing and swung herself to make a turn. The summer wind stroked her damp skin and she took a moment to draw in the fresh air into her lungs, throwing her head back in the process. Holding her breath, she stood there for a moment. Her ears caught distant noises of people yelling, probably from the baseball club not far off. As she puffed out through her mouth, she proceeded her trip to the end of the passageway.</p>
<p>From afar, she noticed a familiar figure, in which she’d recognized as Kageyama (who else was blessed with tall-and-toned physique and smooth jet-black hair), standing by himself in front of the vending machine. He probably heard her incoming footsteps since he’d turned his head in her direction before she could call out his name. He took one of his hands out of his trousers and waved at her. Yachi smiled in return and sprinted towards him.</p>
<p>“Hey,” she greeted as she brought herself to a full stop by his side. “Here for extra classes, aren’t you? How did it go?”</p>
<p>“The only good thing about it is that it is over,” Kageyama deadpanned, shrugging his shoulder. Yachi covered her mouth to restrain herself from chuckling, though it barely helped. He didn’t seem to mind. “Why are you in school, Yachi-san?” he asked as he inserted some coins into the slot.</p>
<p>“Uh, <em>well</em>–” Yachi listened to the clattering coins inside the machine and watched the buttons lightened up, subconsciously hiding the report paper behind her back. “To get some stuff I’ve forgotten from the teacher?”</p>
<p>Her reply sounded more like a question rather than an answer, but Kageyama bought it anyway. He was never a type to meddle with other people’s business and Yachi was thankful for that. If only everyone had the same ignorance as him, everything wouldn’t be so complicated. Ignorance was supposed to be a bliss, wasn’t it? Kageyama might not know the meaning behind that sentence, but it was obvious how he lived his life with that pearl of wisdom.</p>
<p>“Aren’t you going to get something?” Kageyama lifted an eyebrow to Yachi and his voice snapped her out of her thought.</p>
<p>“Oh, y-yeah, <em>right.</em>” Yachi flicked her hair over her shoulder and shifted her focus back to the machine to scan its display.</p>
<p>Mineral water, juice, coffee, soda, and tea. All through three years of high school, Yachi had always bought drinks from this certain vending machine despite the school owned a couple of more. Even so, she still needed quite some time to come up with a decision. Her lips curled as she pointed a finger back and forth between apple juice and milk tea. Both offered the same sweetness she’d longed for, both were her favorite, and they both tore her.</p>
<p>Yachi snuck a glance at the carton of milk in Kageyama’s hand. He always got the same thing, either a carton of milk or a bottle of plain yogurt from the same brand. She had tried them before and they were good, but not something she would buy regularly since original flavor would soon taste bland on her tongue. Regardless, it must had been nice to be decisive, to <em>always know</em> what to pick among the abundance of selections, to never linger over uncertainty and dwell in self-doubt. Just like him towards that carton of milk and him towards <em>volleyball</em>.</p>
<p>“Are you okay, Yachi-san?”</p>
<p>His voice startled her again and Yachi’s grip on the report paper loosened, causing the sheet to fall off her hand and blown by the gust of wind. Her heart dropped at the scene, body tensed up instantly as the abrupt thought of her coming back to the staff room to request for another paper barged into her mind.</p>
<p>To her surprise, Kageyama was quick to react. He lunged forward and outstretched his free arm, capturing the corner of the paper between his fingers before it could fly any higher. When he pulled back, the sheet opened out by accident, showing off the bolded title and the blank spaces inside of it. Yachi gasped audibly. She snatched the document from his hand and held it close to her chest, crumpling the paper with the tightness of her grip.</p>
<p>“That report, I haven’t collected mine either,” Kageyama told her.</p>
<p>Yachi’s eyes went round at his confession. “You–” She swallowed hard. “You haven’t <em>too</em>?”</p>
<p>“Uh-huh,” he hummed, “Yanda-sensei told me to redo it.”</p>
<p>“What did you write that you have to <em>redo </em>a <em>career report</em>?”</p>
<p>He didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his head back to the vending machine and pointed a finger at the milk tea option.</p>
<p>“Anyway, Yachi-san, about this milk tea–” He tapped lightly on the glass. “There’s a new variation with brown sugar flavor or something. They haven’t updated this machine yet, but there’s one at the shrine up the hill.”</p>
<p>She blinked twice at him. “Shrine up the hill?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I kind of figured you couldn't have known about it since your house is in the opposite direction. The mountain which Hinata bikes over to commute every day, you know that one right?” He prompted and Yachi nodded slowly, eyes still wide and questioning. He carried on, “If you take a turn to the left before the entrance of the mountain, there’s this hill, and at some point there's this rocky staircase leading up to a small shrine, and if you walk further past the premises–"</p>
<p>He halted and closed his mouth, thinking about something, eyes shot up to the ceiling as if it would speak for him. When he switched them back to Yachi, he asked, "do you want to go there and get it instead?”</p>
<p>Three seconds of hush before Yachi responded with, “and get <em>what </em>instead?”</p>
<p>“The milk tea,” he clarified. “Do you want to go there and get the brown sugar milk tea?”</p>
<p>“Do I want to,” she repeated his words tentatively and rephrased it, “<em>get a brown sugar milk tea at a shrine on the top of a hill</em>?”</p>
<p>He gave her a firm nod, face straight and certain, nothing indicated that he was joking or that her paraphrase was wrong. “It’s not far and we can borrow Hinata’s bike,” he added when she didn’t react. “He still has Math II until twelve-thirty.”</p>
<p>Yachi averted her gaze to the side, vacant stare fixed on the vending machine as she tried to process Kageyama’s statements and analyze the motivation behind them, such as which shrine he’s talking about, what kind of milk tea that had brown sugar flavor, and why he’s asking her if she wanted to check it out. However, the most vivid thought in her mind was the picture of Hinata’s bike.</p>
<p>“You <em>do </em>know Hinata’s bike doesn’t have a back seat, right?” was what came out from her mouth when she returned her gaze to Kageyama.</p>
<p>“It has that cylindric thing attached to the rear wheel where you can set your feet on.”</p>
<p>It must had been the summer heat mixed with the confusion inside her head and the distress inside her heart because <em>the normal </em>Yachi wouldn’t have agreed to get a brown sugar milk tea at some random shrines that were located on the top of a hill by riding an obviously not-built-to-be-ridden-by-two-people bicycle. In any case, it didn’t matter anymore now that Yachi had already set her feet on the bike-pegs with both of her hands clinging onto Kageyama’s shoulders.</p>
<p>After making sure Yachi was ready to depart, Kageyama began to pedal the bike and exited the bicycle lot. It was shaky at first and Yachi was close to screech her heart out when the bike slanted to one side, nearly collapsing after only half a minute into the ride. Nevertheless, Kageyama was a fast learner and it didn’t take him a long time to regain his balance. They swiftly headed out of the school through the front gate and hit the main road.</p>
<p>The sun generously showered them with its rays; bright, dazzling, and honestly <em>hellish</em>. The last time Yachi checked it was around 10 AM, which meant it’s supposed to be the <em>morning hours</em>. She wondered how high the temperature would rise when midday arrived. Even the asphalt looked radiant and sparkly, she had to squint to keep her eyes open.</p>
<p>“We should’ve remembered this week is the hottest week of the year, Kageyama-kun,” Yachi muttered, shading her face from the torturing light with one of her hands. The fact that riding bikes in tandem was illegal didn’t have a chance to cross her mind anymore, she was too busy recalling the amount of sunscreen she’d smeared on her body earlier this morning, whether or not it was enough to prevent skin cancer.</p>
<p>Kageyama must had heard her, her face wasn’t far from his ears in the first place. “I told you it won’t be long, don’t worry,” he said as he bent his body a little lower. “Hold on tight, Yachi-san, I’m gonna speed up now.”</p>
<p>“Wait, <em>what</em>, no, don’t spee–“</p>
<p>A strong wind blew past them as Kageyama accelerated the speed. They surged forward throughout the vacant road, breaching the summer air. Yachi instantly wrapped her arms around him, so tight she thought she might had strangled his neck at some point. She clenched her jaw and buried her face on one side of his shoulder, enduring the urge to shriek. Her heartbeat was pounding along with the noise of the rattling chain under them.</p>
<p>When the road started to tip upwards, Kageyama slowed down to some degree, still particularly fast considering the fact that he was cycling uphill while fighting against the torturing sun right above his head. Yachi loosened her grasp and straightened up, blood rushed to her cheeks, burning hot either from the heat or from how she just hugged Kageyama Tobio.</p>
<p>“You okay right there?” Kageyama asked, canting his head back a little bit.</p>
<p>“Mmmh,” she hummed to answer him, lips glued together, refusing to speak so she wouldn’t accidentally bite her own tongue.</p>
<p>When Yachi repositioned herself, she finally paid attention to her surroundings. They were passing a paddy field; broad and vibrant, painting the land in golden-yellow under the blue sky. A sweet straw scent tickled her nose, fresh aroma of harvested rice flowing in the air. The scenery lifted the frown on her face. She tapped Kageyama’s back repeatedly as if he hadn’t realized the change of view.</p>
<p>“Makes me hungry,” he commented shortly.</p>
<p>Yachi almost snorted. Maybe she already did. “That’s raw rice, Kageyama-kun,” she rolled her eyes, laughing, “What are you, a bird–“ she paused, registering her own statement. “Oh wait, you <em>are </em>a bird. Do crows eat rice though?”</p>
<p>“<em>Do crows eat rice though</em>?” Kageyama parroted, sending the question back to Yachi. <em>Do crows eat rice? </em>She didn’t know either, or rather she’d never thought about it. She wrote a mental note to google the answer once she got home later.</p>
<p>Several farmers in their overalls and straw hats were walking through the grassy path between the paddies not far from the road. They noticed the couple passing by. Yachi raised up an arm to wave at them for she couldn’t bow as she would usually do. Surprisingly, they waved back. She tapped Kageyama’s back repeatedly again, as if he hadn't yet to see it. He didn’t complain. Besides, he greeted the farmers with a polite nod, like a good boy he was.</p>
<p>As he had stated before, Kageyama made a turn at the intersection before the entrance of the mountain. The track here was less steep compared to the mountain’s road with a line of huge trees running along each side. Their extensive branches canopied the road, rustling loudly upon them, causing its leaves to fall off and dance in the air before alighting on the ground.</p>
<p>Kageyama stopped pedaling and latched his fingers on the hand-breaks. The bike slid by itself, ceasing the speed progressively along with the tightness of his grip on the handlebar. Yachi craned her neck to look over Kageyama’s shoulder. The rocky staircase he’d mentioned before appeared on the view, getting closer and closer as the wheels came to a full standstill.</p>
<p>With one foot on the ground, Kageyama slanted the bike to help Yachi climbed off the vehicle. He held out a hand for her to hold as she hopped down and landed on the ground. Yachi dusted her uniform skirt and ran her fingers through her hair, hissing when she snagged them on few tangles. She shot Kageyama a scowl when she noted how his hair remained straight and smooth despite the wind.</p>
<p>Kageyama stuck the bicycle between some wild shrubs nearby. He picked his bag from the front basket and slung it over one shoulder. Yachi thought he might need to rest a little considering the amount of energies he’d burned on the way there, but instead, Kageyama cocked his chin towards the staircase, gesturing her to start climbing as though he hadn’t been biking uphill for about four miles until a minute ago.</p>
<p>“How did you know about this place, Kageyama-kun?” Yachi asked as she followed him ascending the stairs, carefully placing her footing on the stone step since falling down this rocky staircase would be the last thing she wished for. <em>The rocky staircase, </em>kind of funny how Kageyama’d named it. It’s a stairway made out of dry-stack stones. It didn’t have railings and the steps didn’t seem to be wide enough for two people to climb side by side. It was more of a hidden shortcut rather than a main path, especially if it’s supposed to lead towards a public space such as shrines.</p>
<p>“Hinata and I come here to practice,” he answered. “Not all the time though. Just sometimes. It would be a pain to bike every time.”</p>
<p>Yachi curled her lips and hummed, imagining Hinata cycling his bike with Kageyama hitchhiking at the back seat and vice-versa. The latter picture appeared to be more reasonable, but Hinata had mastered the skill of biking and conquered this mountain and beyond, so maybe the first idea wasn’t so illogical to begin with.</p>
<p>She ended her thought with a sigh. “I hope Hinata-kun won’t get mad that we took his bike without asking,” she said, turning around to look below her feet. “We just left it there among bushes without even locking it.”</p>
<p>“He’ll be cool as long as we’re back before his class over.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Also, the lock has been broken since forever ago. Hinata never repairs it.”</p>
<p>Yachi crinkled her nose. “Sounds worrying.”</p>
<p>“it’s nothing to worry about, no one will be able to steal it,” he reassured her. “The hand-brake won’t work unless you use it in a specific way.”</p>
<p>“Sounds worrying in a <em>whole </em>another way.”</p>
<p>Kageyama made it to top of the stairs and spun his body towards her, who was still five steps behind him. He held out his hand, bending his knees to extend his reach. The gesture surprised Yachi, but she immediately heaved herself up with one arm stretching out as far as she could to reach him. The moment their fingers touched, Kageyama flexed his arm a little more, caught her by the wrist, and hauled her body up. With his help, Yachi ran up the rest of the stairs swiftly.</p>
<p>As her feet landed on the last step with a muffled thud, Kageyama released his grip. Yachi took a moment to catch her breath before straightening up. When she lifted her face, her eyes captured the sight of a small, residential shrine that stood proudly among the overgrown trees. Its exterior was made out of wood and the gabled roof extended to a portico on the front. The building looked old, yet it didn’t seem to be unattended.</p>
<p>Yachi gaped at the site, curious gaze wandering to every corner as she tailed Kageyama further into the premises. The sound of their footsteps merged with the whisper of the wind, slowly rustling back and forth through the branches, filling the silent air. Shaft of sunlight penetrated through the gaps of the leaves and scattered down, forming a mottled black shadow that gently swayed on the ground.</p>
<p>A fox statue sat on a stone pillar by the entrance of the shrine. A red cloth tied around its neck like a collar. Yachi slowed down to get a better look. It might be a shrine for the fox god. If she wasn’t mistaken, the fox god was known as the protector of rice cultivation. The paddy field wasn’t far from this area, maybe that’s the reason why this shrine was built, though she didn’t understand why it had to be secluded and lodged upon a hill.</p>
<p>The last time she visited a shrine was on the New Year, which was months ago. There wasn’t any shrine around her apartment complex to begin with, to the closest one was twenty-minutes bus ride. She remembered praying for <em>a good result</em> for that year’s spring tournament and that was the only thing she wished. She should had prayed for her academic as well, and for that <em>damn</em> career choice report she’d just recalled. She wondered if the fox god would listen to prayers about teenage-dilemma.</p>
<p>“Yachi-san?”</p>
<p>She didn’t think so. She gave the statue one last look before she moved along, catching up with Kageyama.</p>
<p>They walked through a path leading to the back of the shrine and climbed another stone stairway. Yachi felt her kneecaps numbing (she wrote another mental note to weight herself once she came home), but she forced herself to go up even if she had to suck in a deep breath on every step. The line of trees ended along with the end of the stairs. The sun shone directly on them and Yachi close her eyes by instinct, palm-out above her head to block the sudden bright light. The summer heat kissed her bare skin once more.</p>
<p>Slowly, she squinted open her eyes and saw what appeared to be the view of their suburb beneath the clear blue sky. Yachi swung her body towards Kageyama, making sure he’d also seen it, she probably would had hit him repeatedly on his back if she had been standing behind him. However, Kageyama wasn’t looking at the sky nor the suburb. She followed the direction of his gaze and found a red vending machine, coke red, sitting alone few feet next to the stairs, facing the landscape.</p>
<p>“And there it is,” Kageyama announced as he wiped his temple with the sleeve of his uniform shirt, exhaling in both exhaustion and satisfaction.</p>
<p>“<em>Oh my god</em>,” she blurted between her short breath. “Why in the world would someone place a vending machine at a shrouded area like this?”</p>
<p>“I know, right? And it’s more updated than the one in our school.” Kageyama approached the machine and ran a finger through the selection before stopping at a cream-colored bottle at the second line-up. “Here, I found it,” he said and read aloud the bottle. “<em>Polar brown sugar milk drink.</em> Isn’t it from the same brand you always buy at school?”</p>
<p>“<em>Polar</em>?” Yachi wrinkled her brows. “The vending machines at our school only sell <em>Royal </em>milk tea though.”</p>
<p>She thought she saw his shoulders jolted. She came closer to the machine and craned her neck towards its display. Her furrow deepened. “Yup, definitely different brand.” She pulled herself back and gasped, turning to him. “Oh my god, that’s why I was confused when you said there’s a new flavor while pointing at the <em>Royal </em>milk tea."</p>
<p>The blue in his eyes widened. Kageyama threw his head back and wiped his face with both of his hands. “How am I supposed to remember which milk tea belongs to which brand,” he groaned, limbs collapsing to the ground.</p>
<p>“No, no, no, it’s totally fine, Kageyama-kun!” she hurriedly reassured him, wagging her hands. “I’m actually more surprised that you went out of your way to bring me all the way to a remote area like this just to show me what you thought was my favorite milk tea. I can’t even believe you remember I like milk tea.”</p>
<p>He shot her a questioning look. “You <em>always </em>drink milk tea.”</p>
<p>It didn’t feel like she <em>always </em>drinks milk tea. “I don’t always.”</p>
<p>“Yes, you do and you always make that <em>fwaaah</em> expression when you drink it,” Kageyama said, his voice confident.</p>
<p>“But if that’s the case then–“ she countered, stroking her chin, not convinced. “I shouldn’t have been spending a solid five minutes in front of the vending machine every time I want to buy a drink.”</p>
<p>“I know, I wonder about it too since you always end up with milk tea anyway.”</p>
<p>Before she could continue to argue, Kageyama zipped his bag open and pulled out his wallet. As he stood up again, he took out some coins and popped them into the slot. The coins clanked inside and then the machine began to hum, its buttons lit up faintly under the sunlight. He pressed the milk tea option twice and the machine emitted two heavy thumps.</p>
<p>Crouching down, Kageyama pulled out two bottles of milk tea from the bottom compartment. Still on the ground, he turned to Yachi and threw a bottle towards her. She fumbled to catch it, almost missed. The plastic was wet and cold against her skin.</p>
<p>Kageyama crawled over and flopped down under a shade of a tree nearby, legs stretched out as he leaned back on his arms and let out a long sigh. He looked up and motioned her to take a seat beside him. When Yachi had settled herself on the concrete, he held out his milk tea to her. Yachi lifted an eyebrow at first, but then she giggled softly at the gesture.</p>
<p>“Thanks for the treat,” Yachi cheered as she nudged her own bottle on his.</p>
<p>They twisted open the cap and took a long chug of the tea together. Before the liquid could even enter their throat, the burst it out, almost instantly. Kageyama turned to his side and coughed into the back of his hand. Yachi couldn’t utter any words. She just stared forward blankly, covering her mouth with one palm as she felt a stung in the bridge of her nose.</p>
<p>“I’m pretty sure that one gulp consists ten grams of sugar,” she commented when she found her voice back.</p>
<p>Kageyama was still coughing when he ransacked his bag, pulling a water bottle, unintentionally hauling other stuff along. He drained the container in several gulp, nearly choking at the action. Yachi stroked his back to help him regain composure.</p>
<p>“We’ll <em>definitely</em> have blood sugar if we finish this drink,” he croaked between his fit, cheeks as red as the vending machine.</p>
<p>Another strong wind blustered past them and blew a paper from Kageyama’s unzipped bag. Yachi was in time to catch it midair before it flew towards the cliff. Even with a glimpse, she could recognize the paper. It’s the same paper with the one she’d been staring practically every night. The same paper that had been lingering on her mind since about two months ago.</p>
<p>
  <em>Career Choice Report; name, Kageyama Tobio; third-year class two; option one–</em>
</p>
<p>“Is this why your HR teacher told you to <em>redo </em>your report?” Yachi asked him without looking up from the paper.</p>
<p>“Well, he <em>did</em> say it’s good to have ambition, but–“</p>
<p>“Kageyama-kun.” Her voice deadpanned. “You wrote ‘on top of the world’.”</p>
<p>“In my defense, Hinata wrote the ‘world’s stage’,” Kageyama argued. “I don’t understand where’s the problem. I’ve got it signed.”</p>
<p>Yachi narrowed her eyes at the bottom corner of the paper. “Your parents signed this?”</p>
<p>“They’re not in town so my sister did.”</p>
<p>“<em>Oh my god</em>.” She blurted, shaking her head in disbelief. “And she didn’t say anything?”</p>
<p>Maybe she was challenging him too much. “Well,” he countered, pouting his lips. “What about you, Yachi-san? It’s rare to see you submit something way past the deadline.”</p>
<p>“I lost my paper so–“ she trailed off, suddenly she didn’t feel like lying.</p>
<p>Her first paper wasn’t lost–she wouldn’t had stared at it for every night if it were lost–in fact, it was currently inside her backpack. She needed to request for a new one since her first paper had become too crumpled with dark eraser mark lining over blank spaces instead of actual words.</p>
<p>For a moment it was silent. Kageyama waited for her to answer. Yachi bit her lower lips and sighed. “I honestly don’t know what to write,” she finally confessed.</p>
<p>“I thought you said you aimed for art school?” he asked and the question was correct. She did say it to him sometime during their second year.</p>
<p>“I did but I honestly––“ she shook her head again, head hung low as she fiddled with the sole of her sneakers. “I don’t know, Kageyama. I do <em>like </em>design, but all through these three years of high school, I’ve only done it for the club’s necessity, like creating posters and pamphlets and stuff. I–“ she licked her lips. “I don’t know if I will be able to <em>actually</em> go to an <em>actual </em>art school–or if I ever <em>want </em>to go to an art school.”</p>
<p>A puff of cloud covered the sun, darkening the entire area. Yachi took off her backpack and let her body fall back on the concrete, couldn’t had cared less about her white shirt, it was summer break. It wasn’t the time to wear a uniform and ponder about the future. She could had worn her favorite floral top and short shorts and gone for a shopping spree at the newly-opened mall downtown.</p>
<p>“Back when we were freshman,” she carried on, staring at the sky above her. “My mother said that if I joined a group of passionate people and I couldn’t to give it my all, that would be the rudest thing I could ever do.” She rolled to her stomach and faced him once again. “I don’t know if art school will be the right choice, Kageyama-kun. What if I couldn’t give it my all? What if it turns out to be difficult and I hate it?”</p>
<p>“You’ll survive, Yachi-san,” he tried to convince her.</p>
<p>She didn’t buy it. “And <em>how </em>will I survive it?”</p>
<p>He shrugged. “<em>Somehow.”</em></p>
<p>Yachi scoffed a smile at his answer. “I’m jealous of you and Hinata-kun. You guys know what to do, and where to go, and you never waver at your choice. The world is so wide and <em>too much</em> and yet it never matters since it’s just <em>as if </em>you both have wings to fly.”</p>
<p>Instead of answering, Kageyama arose from the ground and sauntered towards the edge of the cliff. He placed his hands on the bamboo fence and leaned forward. The summer breeze tousled his hair. Yachi sat up and stared at his back. He looked <em>pretty</em> standing under the sky, like he belonged there.</p>
<p>“Yachi-san, do you know how will I get myself to <em>the top of the world</em>?” he asked her, still facing the scenery. “Or how will Hinata bring himself to the <em>world’s stage</em>?”</p>
<p>The unexpected question startled her a little. She shook her head, but then realized he couldn’t had seen it. “I don’t know,” she voiced her answer.</p>
<p>“<em>Somehow.</em>” He said, pivoting on his heel. The sun shone again behind him. “and <em>somehow</em> it’s a valid answer. Do you know why?”</p>
<p>She didn’t.</p>
<p>“Because we are <em>only</em> sixteen.”</p>
<p>Confusion hadn’t yet to leave her face. Kageyama walked back and squatted down in front of her. He snatched his report paper from her hand and held it up before her face. “This? I think this paper is kind of unfair,” he said before he placed it flat on the ground and started folding it. “The teachers suddenly want us to have a detailed plan for the future. Have I mentioned that this is the second time Yanda-sensei asked me, and Hinata, to <em>redo</em> the paper?”</p>
<p>He hadn't. “What did you turn in the first time?” she looked at him through her lashes. Their forehead was close to touching.</p>
<p>“We submitted the first paper with <em>actual </em>plans, but apparently they were <em>nonviable–</em>whatever that means–he said it’s better to have something <em>inside the safe zone</em>–whatever that means either.” He held the paper up before her face again, now shaped into a paper plane. “But I’m only going to do what I want to do.”</p>
<p>Rising to his feet, he lifted the paper plane by its fin and ran towards the fences, swinging his arms as hard as he could when he reached the edge. The plane launched off the cliff, piercing through the air. It floated down at first but a gust of wind raised up and sent it up into the sky, soaring further away until it became a white speck in distance.</p>
<p>“Someone’s gonna find it and read <em>Karasuno High School 3<sup>rd</sup> year class two, Kageyama Tobio’s career report, option one,</em> <em>on top of the world</em>,” Yachi said as she came beside him. She tried to spot the plane again, but she didn't manage to. </p>
<p>“When my sister signed that paper,” Kageyama gazed faraway to the mountain range lacing the horizon. “She laughed.”</p>
<p><em>Obviously</em>.</p>
<p>“But when I told her about Yanda-sensei, she cursed at him. She said <em>f-word </em>the safe zone. It’s okay to jot down whatever we wanted on that paper.” He crossed his arms together and rested them upon the fence. “It’s okay to dream about the world and answer everything with <em>somehow</em>, after all we’re just kids. What’s important is that we’re not stopping, no matter what lies ahead.”</p>
<p>Yachi listened to his words intently. A corner of her lips twitched up. “And you understand all these stuff you’re telling me right now?”</p>
<p>“A little less than a half.”</p>
<p>“Oh, <em>Kageyama-kun,</em>” she whined and dissolved into laughter.</p>
<p>Turning around, Yachi raced back to where she’d laid down before and reached for her backpack. She rooted through it and fished out her report paper, the crumpled and dirty ones. She also pulled out a pen from the side pockets. After she’d flattened the paper on the ground, she clicked the pen and started writing on the blank space underneath the <em>option one</em>.</p>
<p>Kageyama crept behind her and stretched out his neck to look over her shoulder. Before he was able to perceive anything, Yachi folded the top edges of the paper into the center and folded the sides together. She pleated one side, turned it over, and pleated the other until the paper formed a right triangle. When she was satisfied with the shape, she swung towards him, holding up the plane right in front of his face. Her previous scribble was written on the plane’s wings: <em>name, Yachi Hitoka; 3<sup>rd</sup> year class five; option one.</em></p>
<p>“<em>C.E.O of a design company in Tokyo</em>,” he read aloud. “Parenthesis <em>for now, art school</em>.”</p>
<p>“<em>F-word </em>the safe zone, right? As long as we’re <em>not stopping</em>,” her eyes crinkled as she grinned.</p>
<p>His mouth curled up into a proud smirk as he gave her an approving nod. “Anyway.” He tipped his chin to the side. “Wanna bet whether your plane will fly higher? Loser drink the milk tea.”</p>
<p>“<em>What</em>, no!” Yachi exclaimed, taking a step back. “You’re–<em>like</em>–a whole foot above me, and you have strong arms from all those practices. It’s totally unfair and I’m not in mood on having a sugar rush right now.”</p>
<p>“Then I’ll do this to make it fair.”</p>
<p>Without warning, Kageyama bent down and wrapped his arms around Yachi’s waist. She yelped as he hoisted her body, immediately clinging onto his shoulders.</p>
<p>“Get your plane ready, I’m going to run,” he said, putting one foot behind the other to get into position.</p>
<p>“W-w-wait, <em>wait, wait!”</em></p>
<p>With Yachi on his arms, Kageyama dashed towards the edge of the cliff. Yachi raised an arm, clipping the fin of the paper planes between her fingers. As they came nearer towards the fence, she flicked the plane forward, and a gust of wind roared from behind them, stronger than before, carrying the plane into the sky, further and further and further up towards the sun. They had to squint their eyes to catch a glimpse of it.</p>
<p>Yachi let her arm in the air, palm-up as she stared to the back of her hand. The sky looked closer now that she was higher up. She tried to extend her arm, as far as she could until her joint felt tight around her elbow. She twirled her wrist and grasped the air. The sky seemed so vast and distant.</p>
<p>She lowered her chin and darted her gaze ahead, to the small-looking houses and buildings below. Their suburb looked immense, but it’s actually a small neighborhood, a tiny part of Sendai. She remembered the miniature globe she’d bought from a flea market a few years ago. It always looked so tiny, like one-third of a volleyball’s size, she could easily support it with one hand.</p>
<p>The real globe, however, was <em>unthinkable</em>. It offered so much of <em>everything</em> and she’s simply a high-school girl wearing in uniform in the middle of summer break, releasing paper airplanes into the sky with her dreams scrawled on its wings.</p>
<p>“Yachi-san, you know,” Kageyama started off and she jolted slightly at his voice, almost forgetting that she was on his arms. “When we were passing that rice field, you said that I’m <em>a bird</em>–a crow, didn’t you?” he asked her, tilting his chin up to meet Yachi’s eyes. “Also, you said you’re jealous of me, and Hinata, because you thought we both–quote unquote–have wings to fly or something?”</p>
<p>Yachi looked down to him, eyebrows knitted together. Kageyama readjusted his position and continued, “I think sometimes you forget that you’re a <em>crow</em> too, and that you can also fly as well.” He turned his head towards the sky ahead of them. “I always think you can fly.”</p>
<p>His words swelled her heart and she clenched her jaw to contain her emotion. She raised her face again so he wouldn’t notice her rumpling face. Tears beaded her eyes but the sunlight soon scorched it dry. Was her wish absurd? Probably. Would she be able to achieve it? Yes as likely as not. But who had control over her as long as she <em>didn’t stop</em>?</p>
<p>In the back of her mind, she wrote the third mental note that she would stop questioning herself and wrote down what she wanted on that cursed report paper and deliver it to her mother for signing without delay so that her anxiety wouldn’t have time to drop by.</p>
<p>Regardless, at this moment, she just wanted to be sixteen. She just wanted to release paper planes onto the air and drink sugary milk tea that she’d got from a vending machine at a secluded fox-god shrine upon a hill with someone who’d written down “on top of the world” on his career report paper.</p>
<p>“Kageyama-kun,” she called him softly, a smile laced her face. “You <em>do know</em> that you just lost on your own bet, right?”</p>
<p>*</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Kageyachi is considered a rare ship but I will never give up on this pairing. About this fic, it honestly flowed by itself. I love writing about summer and Kageyachi's interactions here were so much fun to write about, even if it's not romantic (it'll be romantic if you squint hard enough until your eyes closed). </p>
<p>Thank you for reading this story! Penny for your thoughts? :)</p>
<p>twt: kumachan_0201 (let's talk!)</p>
<p>Fun fact 1: There're two versions of this story in my head. The other one is more Kageyama's centered. Maybe I'll write that?<br/>Fun fact 2: Yachi was supposed to write 'A BOSS BITCH' on her paper plane because she's QUEEN.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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